A Chance In Counter
by Forever Cullen
Summary: After Arthur got stood up from a blind date he couldn't believe his luck. Especially when he meets a certain Raven haired man who has just gone through what he has, could they both make the best out of a bad situation?


**A Chance In Counter **

Arthur sat in the restaurant waiting for his date to show, he hated blind dates but he hated being single so much more, so in the end he always agreed to let Morgana set him up on these stupid dates.

But tonight it turns out that he had been stood up, Arthur couldn't believe it someone had the guts to stand him up.

"I'll give him five more minutes" Arthur muttered ordering another drink

After five minutes Arthur got up ready to leave when he noticed a beautiful raven haired man sitting alone looking quite sad.

Arthur walked over to the raven haired male

"Is this seat taken?" Arthur asked

"No" the male replied

"I'm Arthur, so beautiful why so sad?" Arthur asked giving him, his best smile

The raven haired beauty laughed

"I'm Merlin and does that line even work?" Merlin smiled

"Well you're talking aren't you" Arthur laughed

"May I sit?" Arthur asked again

"Sure, looks like my date stood me up anyways" Merlin replied

"You to, must be something in the air" Arthur said sitting down

"So Arthur what do you do?" Merlin asked smiling

"I work with my father over at Camelot" Arthur smiled

"Wow that's so … boring" Merlin laughed

"Oh and what do you do for a living then Merlin?" Arthur asked

"I'm a teacher, Art Teacher for the 5th grade. Trust me there is nothing boring about working with children" Merlin laughed

"Can I take your order's sir?" asked the waiter

"Yes can I have the BBQ ribs with fries and another beer thank you" Merlin answered

"And you sir?" he asked turning to face Arthur

"Yes can I have the bacon and cheese burger with fries and a Jack Daniels thank you" Arthur smiled at Merlin who rolled his eyes

"So Merlin, did you fall from heaven?" Arthur asked flashing his pant dropping smile

"No and could you stop its getting annoying" Merlin said finishing off the last of his beer

"Excuse me?" Arthur replied shocked

"Your excused, look Arthur I can see why you got stood up. You're not being true to yourself" Merlin said looking out the window

Arthur sat in silent thinking about what Merlin had said

"You're wrong, you don't know me" Arthur replied

"True but Arthur you have said nothing but bad pickup lines since you sat down" Merlin said

Arthur sighed, Merlin was right; Arthur wasn't really coming off in such a good light

"Your right forgive me?" Arthur asked

"Only if you stop with the pickup lines" Merlin smiled

"I promise" Arthur said just as the waiter came over with their drinks.

"Excuse me could I change my drink order to a beer please" Arthur asked smiling

"Of course sir" the waiter replied

"I hate Jack Daniels" Arthur laughed

Merlin smiled

During dinner they talked about their jobs, past times they enjoyed and even about an upcoming film they both wanted to go and see.

It was a lovely evening Arthur had never felt so relaxed in a long time and it felt wonderful not to have to act like an ass or even like his father.

He found that sitting here with Merlin he could be himself there was no hiding with Merlin.

And it was wonderful!

"Hey you got a bit of sauce right there" Arthur said leaning over and wiping it away before smiling

Merlin just smiled

When the night came to an end Arthur walked Merlin back to his car and smiled

"I had a wonderful time Merlin" Arthur said

"So did I" Merlin smiled and pulled his car door open

Arthur went to kiss Merlin but Merlin placed his finger on Arthur's lips

"Sorry beautiful but no kissing until you ask me out on a real date" Merlin smiled

Arthur smiled but rolled his eyes

"And what was tonight?" Arthur asked

"Tonight was me getting stood up and then meeting you" Merlin smiled and got into his car

"Go out with me?" Arthur asked smiling

"You'll have to call me to find out my answer" Merlin replied smiling as he closed the car door

Arthur watched as Merlin drove off before realizing that he did not have Merlin's number, sighing sadly Arthur placed his hands in his pockets and felt a small piece of paper in his right pocket pulling it out Arthur smiled as he opened it.

_You better call me _was written above the mobile number

Arthur looked forward to planning a real date for them both.

When Arthur visited his parents the next day his mother and sister bombarded him with questions about his date.

"It was wonderful Mother you would like Merlin" Arthur said smiling

"Merlin? I thought you said his name was Jake?" Ygraine asked confused

"Oh no, that guy stood me up" Arthur replied taking a sip of his tea

"WHAT?" both females and his father yelled

"Yeah well anyways Merlin is wonderful. I can be myself around him, you should of seen him Mother he put me in my place" Arthur laughed

"Arthur you seem to be OK with Jake standing you up, if Leon did that to me I would make sure he paid the price" Morgana replied as an evil look appeared in her eyes

"Easy sis everyone knows not to mess with you" Arthur replied laughing

"Tell me all about this Merlin then" Ygraine smiled

"Where to start" Arthur laughed

"I was going to leave when Jake was 20 minutes late, I was talking towards the door when I saw him, he looked so sad. I went over and asked if the seat was taken, he told me 'No' and I told him my name and said 'so beautiful why so sad?" Arthur laughed

"You have your fathers charm then" Ygraine laughed

"What happened next?" Morgana asked smiling

Uther rolled his eyes and he would of said something if it wasn't for the fact that he knew not to mess with his wife unless he wanted to be sleeping in the guest room, so Uther just sat there and listen to his son talk about his date.

"Well he laughed and said his name was Merlin and asked if that line ever worked, I told him it got him talking and asked again if the seat was free and he said I could sit seeing as his date was a no show" Arthur paused to take a another sip of his drink

"Well something must have been in the air then, oh that poor Man" Ygraine said

"Well no need to feel sorry Mother he had Arthur to keep him company" Morgana laughed

"Merlin asked me what I did for a living and I told him, you won't believe what he said" Arthur laughed

"WHAT?" both Females yell as Uther rolled his eyes

"Woo that's so … Boring" Arthur laughed both Ygraine and Morgana joined him

"Well what does he do for a living?" Uther said feeling as if he was being attacked

"Merlin's an Art teacher for the 5th grade, he said there was nothing boring about working with Children" Arthur smiled

"Wait was Merlin's last name Emrys?" Morgana asked

"Yeah why?" Arthur asked confused

"He works at my school. I was going to set you up with him, but Gwen told me he already had a date for the night" Morgana informed them

"Please Continue baby" Ygraine smiled

"Well the waiter came and took our orders, I used the 'did you fall from heaven' line and Merlin told me to stop with the bad pickup lines and just be myself and he was right, I haven't been very true to myself while out and just letting go felt wonderful. The night flowed by and I can't believe how much fun I had" Arthur smiled thinking about their non-date

"And?" Morgana asked

Arthur shook his head before smiling

"I walked him to his car, made a move to kiss him but he stopped me saying that I had to ask him out on a real date, I asked him to go out with me" Arthur finished

"And? Baby what did he say?" Ygraine asked bounding up and down

"Clam down love" Uther said smiling at his wife

"He said I had to call him for the answer" Arthur laughed

"And have you?" Ygraine asked before Morgana could even open her mouth

"Not yet, no" Arthur answered

Ygraine wasn't going to take that as an answer, Ygraine got up and walked over the phone before picking it up and handing it to her son

"Call him" Ygraine said

"Mum" Arthur complained

"Now" Ygraine said leaving no room for argument

"Ok, I'll call him" Arthur smiled as he took the small piece of paper out of his pocket and entered the number before pressing call

"Hello" Arthur couldn't help the smile that formed just be hearing his voice

"Hey it's Arthur" Arthur said

"Are you going to use one of your bad pickup lines" Merlin laughed

Arthur laughed

"No, but I do have a question" Arthur smiled and tried not to look at his family

"Well I'm waiting" Merlin replied

"Will you go out with me?" Arthur asked

"Yes Arthur" Merlin said

"YES" Arthur jumped up from his seat and smiled like he just won the greatest price every

"Arthur? Arthur?" Arthur blinked and realized that he had dropped the phone on the fall, Arthur tried not to notice his family laughing at him, and Arthur bent down and picked up the phone

"I'm here" Arthur smiled

"So where are you taking me?" Merlin wondered

"Well I thought we could go and see that film 'Red' and after go and get some fish and chips" Arthur answered

"Sounds wonderful" Merlin replied

"So shall we say 8pm at the Vue?" Arthur asked

"Sure, see you tomorrow" Arthur smiled

When morning came Arthur couldn't help but want the day to go faster so that he could see Merlin again

When lunch came Arthur got a very embarrassing phone call from his sister, telling him that she was with Merlin right now telling him all about last night and some very embarrassing stories from theis childhood.

When it finally came to 8 pm Arthur was looking forward to finally having a real date with some one that he really liked.

Standing outside the cinema Arthur held onto the tickets and keep an eye out for Merlin, a part of him worried that Merlin wasn't going to show that all those stories his evil sister had told might have scared him off.

"Looking for someone?" Came a voice from behind him, turning Arthur smiled when he saw Merlin standing right in front of him

"Not anymore" Arthur smiled

Merlin smiled and together they walked into the cinema and found a nice seat at the back and placed their popcorn in the middle so they could share it without having to ask.

During the film Merlin reached for the popcorn at the same time as Arthur, Merlin Smiled and placed his head on Arthur's shoulder while they watched Bruce Willis kick ass and save the day.

Once the movie was over Arthur and Merlin walked out of the cinema holding hands and over to the nearest chip shop.

"I loved the part where he just stepped out of the police car and started shooting" Merlin told Arthur as they waited for their chips to cook

"That had to be one of the best parts in the film, I loved how they all worked together to get the vice president into the limo" Arthur laughed

"Thank you Arthur for taking me" Merlin smiled as he collected his chips

"No need to thank me I had fun" Arthur replied picking up his own chips and walked out the shop

While they ate their chips they talked more about the film and about their lives

"I had a wonderful time Arthur" Merlin said as they reached his car

"So did I" Arthur replied smiling

Merlin smiled

"Can I kiss you now Merlin?" Arthur asked smiling

"I would be disappointed if you didn't" Merlin replied

Arthur leaned down and kissed Merlin, Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck while Arthur's fingers got tangled in Merlin's hair. When they pulled a part they were both breathless.

"I'll call you when I get home" Merlin smiled

"And I'll call you for another date" Arthur smiled

Over the next few months Arthur would join Merlin for lunch at his school and Merlin would always join Arthur for dinner. They had yet to have breakfast together.

After a year of dating Arthur took Merlin to the restaurant they had first meet and ask him to moving in with him.

Of course Merlin said yes!

**Epilogue**

A Blond haired man walked into the restaurant and looked for a raven haired beauty looking sad.

Finding who he was looking for the blond walked over to him.

"This seat taken?" he asked

The raven haired man smiled and said 'No'

"I'm Arthur, so beautiful why so sad?" Arthur smirked

"I'm Merlin and does that line even work" Merlin laughed

Arthur smiled and leaned down kissing his husband before sitting next to him.

"Happy Anniversary baby" Arthur smiled

"Can you believe that 4 years today we meant here at this table" Merlin asked leaning his head on Arthur's shoulder

"Of course, still can't believe you said yes to me 2 years ago" Arthur smiled kissing Merlin's forehead

Merlin laughed

"Well what else would I say, I do love you" Merlin smiled

"Just as I love you" Arthur Smiled

**THE END**

**A/N: I know 'Red' hasn't been out in Cinema for a while but I thought it would be a good film for them :) **

**If you haven't seen it then you should it's a great film :)**

**Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review :)**


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